HOW WE EMBRACE SLOW LIVING AT HOME WITH TODDLERS

Good Morning Sweet Friends, 

I hope everybody is finding some sort of  calm with everything that is going on at the moment.  I generally have a slower way of going about life, so though this is definitely more confined and isolating than my normal day-to-day, there are a number of things we do as a family to enjoy quality time together at home.  I think the hardest part of what is happening right now is the idea that there is little choice and it feels as though it is out of our control.  I too feel overwhelmed, confused and obviously worried as we prepare to bring a newborn into this world in the middle of a world wide pandemic.  

I personally believe that choosing to embrace what is at the moment really is our only option.  To take the necessary precautions to keep others who may be more at risk safe.  I would love to create a post with how I am feeling being 28 week pregnant during all of this, my feelings and thoughts and that is something I will work on in the next coming days, let me know if that is something you would like to read.

If you’re in the colder parts of Canada like we are right now, it may feel even more difficult to think of things to entertain your toddlers at home since going outside is only an option for part of the day–if at all depending on how cold it is.  I wanted to create a list of things we do at home to entertain the kids, keep ourselves busy and hope they help you get in some quality time with your loved ones during this very confusing time. 

If you click on each image it’ll take you directly to the item.

1.  Books.  My children absolutely love reading, Here is a list of our top ten at the moment.

4.  Turn on the TV.  Watch a movie together, Do this guilt free mamas, we are all doing our very best.  Harlow hasn’t been into tv since she was very little so sometimes getting her to watch a movie is a bit over stimulating / a lot to process but we’ve just been fast forwarding through the parts she doesn’t like.

5.  If you can–get outside! Nature has so many things to do and explore and it’s my absolute favourite place to be.  As I am writing this I am overcoming something and it’s also very cold so this might not be an option for us in the very near future but we will definitely be embracing it every chance we get.  

6.  An indoor blow up jump house.  We got this when I was pregnant with Arrow to help entertain Harlow during the winter months indoor (when I wasn’t feeling like going to a play centre etc) so we could have our friends kids over and everyone could play together. It has been one of the most used items in our home.  We’ve used it for birthday parties, during the summer in the back yard and anytime we have play dates. Would highly recommend doing this is you’ve never thought of doing it in the past.

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9.  Quality time just talking, playing and being.  I think we as a society have almost lost the importance of a simple conversation.  Asking our children how they are doing, what they are seeing, feeling, tasting, etc.  Take each moment here in the now as a gift and just watch and see how your heart and mind shifts. 

10.  Count the things that make you happy, bring you joy, what you are grateful for.  It is such a powerful time more than ever to recognize all that we have.  I know I speak of this often but our health is ultimately one of the most important things we will ever possess.  The second we see that, recognize it, and appreciate it we are better able to feel a sense of peace with everything else going on around us. We are so privileged, in the midst of all of this, to have all that we do. Running clean water, roofs over our heads, food in our bellies. Start teaching our babies gratitude and what it means to embrace the power of that.

11.  Toys my kids use almost everyday.  You can also put half of your toys away and then bring them out again in a couple of weeks so they feel new to the kids again.  We do this all the time and it works so well.

12.  Bubble baths.  Sounds like a funny one but it seriously has been such a fun way for us to pass an hour of time and play and be together.  Turn on some music, get their favourite bubbles, toys and make an activity out of it.

I am sending so much love to each and everyone of you.  I know we are all processing this differently, feeling this differently and ultimately experiencing this differently so it isn’t going to look or be managed similar by any two of us.  Remember to navigate your day to day with grace and kindness because our world needs a whole lot of that right now.

Biggest hugs, 

Eleni